What are the verbs in English. Forms of verbs in English. Verbs with different functions

The verb is the king of the English language. Even the shortest sentence always contains a verb. Conversely, a verb can be used to form a sentence in one word, for example “ Stop!”(“ Stop! ”).

Verbs are sometimes called "action words." This is partly true. Many verbs convey the idea of ​​doing something - for example, “ run"(To run)," fight"(To fight)," do" (make), " work" (work).

But some verbs have the meaning not of action, but of existence, not of “doing”, but of “being”. These are verbs such as “ be" (to be), " exist" (exist), " seem"(To seem)," belong”(To belong).

The subject is attached to the verb as a predicate. So, in the sentence “ Mary speaks English”(“ Mary speaks English ”) Mary- subject, and the verb speaks - predicate.

Thus, we can say that verbs are words that explain what the subject does ( does) or what / what is ( is), and describe:

• action (" John plays football”-“ John plays football ”);
• condition (" Ashley seems kind”-“ Ashley seems kind ”).

English verbs have one peculiarity. Most of the words of the other parts of speech -, etc. - do not change (although nouns have singular and plural forms). But almost all verbs change in grammatical forms. For example, the verb “ to work”(“ To work ”) five forms:

• to work, work, works, worked, working

Note, however, that this is a little compared to languages ​​in which one verb can have 30 or more forms (for example, Hungarian) - if you started learning verbs in, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

100 main verbs in English

Below is a list of 100 basic English verbs. it will be useful to first of all learn these most popular verbs of the English language. The verbs in the table are given in descending order of frequency of use:

Verb Is an independent part of speech that expresses the action of an object or person or their state. Verbs answer the question " what to do?», « what to do?».

English verbs change depending on faces(I, You, He, etc.), the numbers(singular or plural), time in a sentence. Verbs have a passive and active voice, mood and four aspect (indefinite, long-lasting, perfect and absolutely long-lasting). Distinguish also transitional and intransitive Verbs.

• I work every Sunday and Matt works as well.- I work every Sunday and Matt also works. (different faces)
• Ann worked yesterday and she will work tomorrow.- Ann worked yesterday and she will work tomorrow. (different time)
• This project must be finished today. Work!- This project should be completed today. Work! (passive voice and imperative)

Verbs English can have the same forms with other parts of speech (nouns, adjectives), but verbs are often used with a particle to infinitive and appear after the subject in the sentence.

• You answer is correct.- Your answer is correct. (noun)
• You have to answer all my questions.- You have to answer all my questions. (verb)

• Claire quit her job and her friend Monica acted in a like manner.“Claire quit her job, and her friend Monica did the same. (adjective)
• I really like this book.- I really like this book. (verb)

Types of verbs by education

The verbs of the English language are divided by their form into simple, derivatives, complex and composite Verbs.

Simple verbs(simple verbs) consist of a single root without adding suffixes or prefixes.

• to play - play
• to look - look
• to read - read
• to love - to love

Derived verbs(derived verbs) are derived from specific suffixes and prefixes added to the stem of the verb.

• to un do- unfasten, return
• to pur ify- to clear
• to im port- import, import
• to critic ise- criticize

Compound verbs(compound verbs) are formed by merging two stems into one word. In English, such verbs are rare.

• to daydream - daydreaming, dreaming
• to brainwash - brainwash
• to browbeat - intimidate, scare
• to kickstart - whip up, give impetus

• Teddy is my best friend.- Teddy is my best friend.
• Mom becomes very angry when I break something.- Mom gets very angry when I break something.
• You look tired. You should rest a bit.- You look tired . You need to rest.

Auxiliary verbs

Auxiliary verbs(auxiliary verbs) - verbs that have completely lost their lexical meaning (not translated) and are used to form grammatical structures and verb forms. Through them categories are expressed faces, the numbers and time.

• Will you be free tomorrow?- Will you be free tomorrow?
• I don’t know this woman. I have never seen her before.“I don’t know this woman. I've never seen her before.
• We are working this week so we shall go to the zoo next Sunday.“We're working this week, so we'll go to the zoo next Sunday.

Modal verbs

Modal verbs(modal verbs) - a special group of verbs that have a certain lexical meaning (the speaker's attitude to a certain action) but cannot be used independently, without semantic verb.

• How dare you come here!- How dare you come here!
• You shall not pass!- You will not pass! (I won't let you)
• Jack could have helped us.“Jack could help us.

Verbs with different functions

Sometimes the same English verb can have different meanings and thus refer to different groups of verbs.

• I do exercises every morning.- I do exercises every morning. (semantic verb)
• Do you want to go to the party?- Do you want to go to the party? (auxiliary)

• Now turn right and stop the car near that big tree.“Now turn right and stop by that big tree. (semantic verb)
• Ann turned red when we started to talk about Paul. Ann blushed when we started talking about Paul. (linking verb)

Majority auxiliary verbs can be used as modal, but already getting a different shade of meaning.

• I shall do my homework tomorrow. I'm lazy now.- I'll do my homework tomorrow. I'm too lazy now. (auxiliary)
• You shall not say such things in my house!- You dare not say such things in my house! (modal verb)

• Kate woke me up early so I should not miss my bus.“Kate woke me up early so I wouldn't be late for my bus. (the auxiliary verb should as the past tense of shall)
• You shouldn’t have said these words to Alice.“You shouldn't have said those words to Alice. (should as modal verb)

Verb forms

Infinitive

Have regular verbs(regular verbs) this form is formed with the ending -ed.

Past participle regular verbs matches the shape past indefinite time(adding the ending -ed).

Irregular Verbs(irregular verbs) have unique forms of the past participle.

• to break → broken
• to set → set
• to show → shown
• to do → done

Aspect of verbs

Aspect(aspect) of verbs indicates the peculiarity of the course of an action in time, its completeness or duration. In English, a verb has four aspects: uncertain(or general), perfect, long and perfectly long-lasting aspect. The aspect of a verb is directly related to its tense.

General or undefined aspect a verb (simple aspect or indefinite aspect) indicates an action, the timing of which is not defined, to facts. Common types include Present Simple, Past Simple, and Future Simple tenses.

• I eat cakes.- I eat cakes. (there is no clear indication of the time or repeatability of the action)
• I ate cakes.- I ate cakes.
• I will eat cakes.- I'll eat cakes.

Perfect aspect(perfect aspect) indicates a timed action or action that precedes another action in a sentence. This aspect includes the perfect (completed) times for your cake. (at the moment, focus on action)

Perfectly long-lasting aspect(perfect progressive aspect) expresses an action that lasted for some time up to a certain point and can continue after it. Verbs in this form often answer the question “ how long?". It is expressed in the times of Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous and Future Perfect Continuous.

• I have been eating this cake for an hour.- I've been eating this cake for (already) an hour. (how long?)
• Last time I had been eating that cake for an hour.- Last time I ate that cake for an hour.
• I will have been eating a cake for an hour next time.- Next time I'll eat cake for (whole) hour.

Transitive verbs

In English, there are transitional and intransitive Verbs.

Transitive verbs(transitive verbs) express an action that is transferred to a certain object or performed over it. This item is a direct addition to the offer. After the transitive verbs, you can ask the question “ whom?», « what?».

• I'm writing a letter.- I am (now) writing a letter.
• I wash my dog ​​every week.- I bathe my dog ​​every week.
• Matt called me yesterday.- Matt called me yesterday.

Intransitive verbs(intransitive verbs) indicate an action that does not require padding. Often intransitive verbs express movement, position in space, state of an object. After them, an indirect addition (with prepositions) can be used.

• Rachel is laughing. Rachel laughs.
• I fell from the stairs yesterday.- I fell off the steps yesterday.
• Horses gallop in the field.- Horses are galloping in the field.

Many verbs of the English language, depending on the context, can be as transitional and intransitive verbs.

• I am singing because I am happy.- I sing because I'm happy.
• I always sing this song when I'm happy.- I always sing this song when I'm happy.

• Stop the car here, please.- Stop the car here, please.
• The car stopped here.- The car stopped here.

Studying a grammatical rule, you come across different parts of speech. The verb in English occupies one of the leading positions in terms of the variety of forms, cases of use, exceptions, and of use. And so that you, analyzing the time or mood, do not rummage through the manual to find out what transitive or intransitive verbs, semantic or ligaments are, in this article you will find concisely presented material on this part of speech.

How to find a verb in a sentence? Look for that part of speech that conveys action, state and answers the question what to do? / What to do? or describes what is being done, happening to a person or an object. But each expression uses different forms, types, which are important to know and distinguish from other members. What do you need to learn?

English verbs by structure

If we look at this part of speech visually, we can see its composition. Some of them resemble other words, such as nouns or adjectives, which means that they are formed from other morphological units. So, according to education and their composition, verbs in English are divided into groups.

• Simple we call those that have only a stem without suffixes and prefixes: to do, to run, to take, to get.
• Derivatives- these are those that are derived from other parts of speech, and have suffixes or prefixes, and sometimes both: to dis charge, to short ru... to signi fy.
• Composite or phrasal. We will refer to this group the stable combinations of a verb and a preposition (or adverb): to get up, to give up, to look forward with.
• Complex not very much in English, but they do occur. This group includes those that consist of two words: to broadcast, to whitewash.

Forming verbs in English is not an easy thing to do. Sometimes you can trace some pattern, and sometimes you just have to memorize. Let's take a look at the most characteristic prefixes and suffixes of this part of speech.

1. —en: to widen, to strengthen - expand, strengthen
2. —fy: to simplify, to signify - to simplify, to signify
3. —ize: mobilize, to organize - mobilize, organize
4. —ate: to demonstrate, to separate - demonstrate, separate
5. re-: to resell, to reconstruct - resell, rebuild
6. dis-: to disarm, to disappear - disarm, disappear
7. un-: to unload, to untie - unload, untie

English verbs by meaning and role in a sentence

Each word in a sentence has not so much semantic, but also grammatical meaning. No utterance can exist without verbs. But be careful, each of them has its own role.

• Notional verbs are used as a predicate in a sentence. In other words, they perform an action.

He speaks 3 foreign languages. - He speaks three foreign languages.

They returned from their holidays yeasterday. - They returned from vacation yesterday.

• Auxiliary or Auxiliary verbs do not have their own semantic meaning. They are like faithful helpers - they bark, but do not bite, being only part of a composite predicate. Each of the verbs of this type has its own place in the sentence: is, am, are, do, does, will, have, has, did, had, been, be. How to choose the right one? Study the times and then you will not have problems with education.

She is reading my new book now. - She's now reading my new book.

I do not know her address. “I don’t know her address.

We will go there next summer. - We will go there next summer.

• So called Link verbs. What do they have in common? There is such a compound-nominal predicate when the verb connects the subject and the object. The main representatives of this group are: to be, to become, to get, to turn (meaning to become), to look.

He is my first teacher. - He is my first teacher.

The car was red. - The car was red.

He became a teacher. -She became a teacher.

She looks well. - She looks good.

• Modal verbs also cannot exist separately, but only in combination with an infinitive. Each phrase should contain a semantic verb, and the modal conveys only the attitude to the action: I can, it is necessary, should, should ( can, may, must, should, have to, to be to, will, would, shall, need ought).

I can read books in the original. - I can read books in the original.

I must do it immediately. - I have to do it immediately.

You needn’t buy bread. “You don’t have to buy bread.

English verbs by form

To begin with, we immediately note that all representatives of this group can be divided into correct and incorrect. The former form the past tense forms with ed, and the latter need to be memorized, the so-called exception verbs in English. They can be found in the table. So, there are the following forms:

1st form- infinitive - as the word is presented in the dictionary - V 1

2nd form- past indefinite form - Past Indefinite - V 2

3rd form- past participle - Past Participle - V 3

4th form- present participle - Present Participle - V ing

We have considered the first division, but in turn, there is another classification on this basis: personal and impersonal forms. The first ones have all the basic features of the verb, and the second ones (gerund, infinitive, participles) only some of them.

More information about this can be found in the article "Forms of the English Verb".

What else do you need to learn?

Not all verbs have the following properties, but most still change according to them.

1. Temporary changes (Tenses). The verb is the main indicator of the tense in which the situation is expressed. Based on its composition, one can draw a conclusion about the present, past or future.
2. Conjugation. This part of speech is conjugated for persons, which change in numbers (plural / unit), depending on which different endings or the corresponding auxiliary verb are used.
3. Pledge (Active / Passive Voice). Each sentence is either active or passive. This means that the subject performs an action or is performed on it.
4. Mood ... The emotional coloring of statements is characteristic not only of Russians, but also of the British. That is why they distinguish the indicative, subjunctive and imperative moods.
5. Transitivity. Some members of this group require an addition after themselves, and some do not. In accordance with this, transitive verbs and intransitive verbs are distinguished.

This is all the basic information about the verb. But reading this article does not mean that you have learned everything. It can serve as a blueprint for what is important to learn and understand. But each form, category and type must be mastered separately, in more detail.

Verb Is a part of speech denoting any action, while the action is understood in a broad sense: be, sleep, and also the absence of action: not to be, not to sleep, and so on.

We list grammatical categories English verb:

• mood;

Classification of verbs

By morphological structure verbs are divided into:

Postpositions often drastically change the meaning of the main verb: to give- to give, whereas to give in- give up; to put- put, place, to put down- write down.

In their own way meaning English verbs are:

• semantic;
• service;
• auxiliary;
• modal.

Semantic (Notional Verbs) verbs have their own lexical meaning, and therefore can independently act as a predicate:

I am riding a bicycle, I speak English

Another name for these verbs is significant.

Service verbs have completely or partially lost their lexical meaning, and therefore are part of the predicate along with the semantic verb:

I am riding a bicycle, I will send you an invitation.

Based on this, we can distinguish varieties of service verbs:

When learning English, special attention should be paid to verbs. First, the more verbs you know, the easier it will be for you to express your thought in English. After all, if any noun can be replaced by a pronoun, then there is nothing to replace the verb as a part of speech denoting an action or state. Secondly, it is impossible to communicate in English without having an understanding of the English verb tenses system.

English verbs can be divided into four main groups:

• Semantic - express an action, a process, therefore, they are always translated into Russian.
• Auxiliary - do not express actions and are not translated. Serve for the formation of interrogative and negative sentences and complex verb forms.
• Modal - they do not express the action itself, but the attitude towards it (should, maybe, etc.) They, as a rule, are translated.
• Linking verbs - do not express actions, serve to link the subject and the nominal part of the predicate, show the time, number and face.

In addition, verbs are divided into regular and irregular. Irregular Verbs- these are verbs in which the past tense form (Past tense form), as well as the past participle form (Past participle) are formed differently from regular verbs. Regular verbs these forms are formed by adding –ed to the first form. Forms of irregular verbs need to be memorized, especially since these include the most common verbs of everyday speech. As a rule, these verbs are found in English-Russian dictionaries, where they are often presented in the form of special lists.

The initial form of all verbs is infinitive, i.e. indefinite form of the verb (answers the question "what to do?", "what to do?"). Before unspecified the form of the verb is usually the particle to, which is not translated in any way. Example: to read - read.

The peculiarity of the English sentence is such that it always contains a verb... Example: He is a student. - He (is) a student. We see that if there is no verb in the Russian sentence, then in its English version there is a verb is - a verb-linking.

Linking verb TO BE

The most common linking verb is the verb to be(to be, to be) This verb has several forms that depend on tense, number, person. Forms of the verb to be:

shall, will - future auxiliary verbs. The above forms of the verb must be learned by heart. The linking verb to be has the meaning "to be", "to be" and is most often not translated. Example: I am a pupil. - I (am) a student. I was a pupil. - I was a student.

Modal verbs (can, may, must)

Modal verbs do not express an action, but a relationship to an action (necessity, the likelihood of an action). These verbs are usually not used independently and are usually placed before the semantic verb. Let's look at three basic modal verbs.

Modal verb can(could - past tense form) - can, be able, can, can, etc.
Examples: He can speak English. - He can (can) speak English.
Modal verb may(might - past tense form) - can, can, can, etc.
Examples: You may take the book. - You can take this book.

The verbs can and may should not be confused. The verb can implies the physical ability to do something, the ability to do something. The verb may means possibility, speculation. It is used to ask permission or give permission.

Modal verb must(no past tense) - should, should, should, etc.
Examples: I must stop smoking. - I have to stop smoking.

Features of these modal verbs

• The particle to is not placed before modal verbs, and the particle to is not placed after modal verbs before semantic verbs in an indefinite form. Example: We must read. - We have to read.
• The modal verb is placed before the main verb form.
• Modal verbs do not receive the -s endings in the 3rd person singular tense of Present Simple.
• These modal verbs are used without any auxiliary verbs.
• When forming interrogative and negative sentences, the use of modal verbs has its own characteristics, which I will report on in the corresponding section.

There are several other modal verbs in English that I will not consider here.